St Margaret Clitherow

Religious Education at St Margaret Clitherow Primary School

At St. Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School, Religious Education (RE) is at the absolute heart of our curriculum and daily life. It is not just a subject we teach; it is a lens through which we help our pupils understand the world, develop deep moral foundations, and foster respect for all.

RE Policy 2026-2027

To Know You More Clearly

At St Margaret Clitherow's we follow the new Religious Education Directory, 'To Know You More Clearly' in all of our year groups from EYFS-Year 6.

The RED (Religious Education Directory), is Scripture based. It follows the story of Jesus, and it is an invitation to 'Know Him more clearly'.

It allows children to get to know Him, to journey with Him through His life, death and resurrection.

The RED is taught through six curriculum branches: Creation and Covenant; Prophecy and Promise; Galilee to Jerusalem; Desert to Garden; To the ends of the Earth; Dialogue and Encounter.

In each lesson, children explore their learning through four knowledge lenses:

Hear/Word
Believe/Creed
Celebrate/Liturgy
Live/Life

OVERVIEW OF RED

We follow the RED: To Know You More Clearly programme to support the spiritual and personal development of our pupils. This whole-school approach focuses on a consistent branch of learning each half term across all year groups, promoting a shared journey of faith and understanding. While the theme remains the same throughout the school, the depth and focus are thoughtfully adapted to suit the developmental stage of each year group, ensuring age-appropriate engagement and reflection. This page outlines how each year group explores the branches of the programme over the academic year.

What We Study: The Six Branches

The RED curriculum is beautifully structured around six core branches, which the children explore throughout the liturgical year:

Key Skills Developed in RE

Through the RED framework, we encourage our pupils to be critical thinkers, empathetic listeners, and reflective individuals. We focus on three core disciplines:

Discernment: Asking big questions about faith, meaning, and purpose.
Knowledge: Understanding scripture, tradition, and the teachings of the Church.
Engagement: Putting faith into action through charity, community work, and daily prayer.

Principles of RE

We view RE- Religious Education teaching and learning as our core-of-core subjects.

A minimum of 10% of our curriculum time is spent on RE and this does not include our 'Celebration of the Word' or our PSHE incorporating Catholic RSE.

We make links to RE through our PSHE Curriculum where ‘global learning’, Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Relationships Education is developed. We study Judaism and other faiths (on a rolling cycle) every year.

RE at St Margaret Clitherow contributes to pupils’ personal development and well-being and to community cohesion by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society. We make links with our local Church ‘St Pauls and Christian Charities (Missio, CAFOD). RE at St Margaret Clitherow offers opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development.

Lighting The Path Termly Overviews

At our school, we are committed to giving our children a rich, inspiring, and faith-filled education. As part of our Religious Education curriculum, we follow the Catholic RE programme Source to Summit: Lighting the Path (published by Oxford Owl). This scripture-first approach guides our pupils through the liturgical year, helping them deepen their faith, explore key biblical stories, and put Catholic Social Teaching into action in their daily lives.

Below, you will find our half-termly Lighting the Path RE overviews. These outline the key themes, scripture, and learning journeys your children will be exploring over the coming weeks.

We encourage you to take a look so you can share in what your child is discovering in class and support their reflection and learning at home.

Parent Letter's

Introducing our new RE Curriculum letter-September 2026